Distributing device



\ Nov. 12, 1929. J. R. LEVY DISTRIBUTING DEVICE Filed Feb. 9, 1927 z Shets-Sheet J Lay INVQNTDR Nov. 12, 1929. J. R. LEVY ,7 4

nzswnrsuwme DEVICE Filed Feb. 9, 7 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JR Levy Patented Nov. 12 1929 JACK RAYMOND LEVY, or PAR-IS, FRANCE, Assrenonmosoornmn EN COMMAND-103E PAR ACTIONS OSCAR LEVY, sns Fins PARIS, FRANCE & GIE s'ocinmn' :oEs CH UssU'nns CECIL); or

nIsTnIBUTiNe ionvron Application filed February 9, 1927, Serial No. 167,063,an. l in France September 22, 1926.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for distributing articles one by oneor in any other desired quantity, for example distributing articles contained in a reserve magazine to another magazine situated be ation; the device is, moreover, very simple in arrangement, operates satisfactory, and is inexpensive to maintain.

' According to the magnitude of the installation the apparatus is formed by joining together, upon any suitable vertical support," such as a wall or column, any number of similar distributor elements which are each essentially characterized by the combination of movable members adapted to convey the articles to be distributed, vertical 'orinclined varying dimensions and shapes and more particularly'adapted' for use in handling footwear slippers and "similar parts of wearing guiding means for these movablemembers and a device for retarding the movement of descent. i

Moreover this vertical or inclined guiding" means is preferably fitted with devices for braking and locking the movable members at the bottom end of their travel.

According to the invention, the articles to be distributed are separately secured, in the reserve magazine, to the movable members,

the latter being then successively engaged in the desired'order upon the vertical guiding member along Which they slide at a slackened speed in order tostop without violent shock at the bottom end.

from the guiding member and the articlesto be distributed are immediately separated" which the movable member is balanced by a counterpoise by means ofa cord passing over a grooved pulley, wh ch counterpoise moves in a vertical tube after the manner of a piston in a cylindenthe tube closed and provided at its ends with regulating valves, in such: a

way that as a'result of the downward moveing drawings which illustrate itby way of These movable members can then be successively disengaged movable member.

this downward movement. r

According to the invention the movable member is suspended from the cord by means of a special hook which is separated autoa matically from this'member when the latter reaches the bottom point of its travel, so that under the efli'ect of the counterpoise the hook;

' is then immediately brought back to the top I point of its travel and 'permitsthe 'distributor to be employedagain.

The invention furthericonsists ina mode of construction of the movable member, wherein the latter includes means for acting as a brake in the vertical guide towards the .end of its travel and is alsoprovided with prehensile members, which are veryeasily manipulated, adapted to seize articles of' apparel.

The invention willgbe briefly described hereinafter with reference'to the accompanyexample, and in which 1 I Fig. 1 is a. general view of a distributor element. p V Fig. 2 is' a'view to a larger scale showing the ends of the apparatus partly in vertical section, a movable member being assumed to have reached the bottom pointof its travel in the apparatus r Fig; 3 is ajsection taken along the line AA'in Fig. 2; v Figs. 4, 5 and 6 show 'thesuspension hook of the movable member in elevation and empty, and carrying a movable member and in plan, respectively.

Figs. 7 and 8 show, in front and side view respectively, the movable member to which an article isattached. 1

Figs. 9 and 10' are two views to a larger scalecoi one of the grasping "meansofthe that the apparatus essentially comprises a vertical guide 1 formed preferably by a tube having a longitudinal slot 2 in which slides a movable member, the body '3 of which possesses practically the internal dimensions of the guide l'. This 'movable member pended from a cord'4' whiehpasses-over a pulley 5 and supports a counterpoisefiv The count IP0i Q5z useadanted t t-be disnlaeed m ylindr ealiti bel; he ends efiwhidhare, closed; a

The arrangement formed by these m embers is secured by' any known means to a suitable support 8 such: as a, wall, p,artition,,,,etc.,

There are also shownin'Fig. 2, at 9 and wo; valve ueh seesa v n edle; altesh W i h-permit he-passageh ee e ai -1 which? end h e alternate y/handed an P man: th i woi ew e ndanger p an edh ylinderfl, obev eg ilated g It Will be understood til-Mi ly Suiv flbly neg ei i ea h degree tel sure oi: these aperree t 1 b P blfi t0 bfifl illmmld an ads fzthe:imev b etmem srea uflieie it yew;mQ-iiementn e he-aaQ ablear gement.

MQrew n-the apna tus empg is e eansfor slackening and aa nesting ththdescfinta 0t helmetablie member his-purp sea he odtifim ielris nra iee y-p l ndrieal i it entr lhner ien E gs fifan hhasft ei ndse att ned; niQne iI leh-plene:

V Th prel ensil membense tealse heveh hiee platen -planed. ymme rytsee hat,theebaseea 14 of h se m mber se v ng ae g iding-emails; l 'h 'bodyf inthehgroe a hee b n eess ily; th ip s ti ni gil: 2a helh the:

b -membela and {thusv-a;-violei;d1 impact to, be,

ayoided- In addition, by the side, of the rightlhand in clined plane at the end ofth'e body 3 (Fig. 2) is a bolt 23 provided with a beak which is not-benelled the upper -side. which bolt is acted upon like the bolt 17 by a spring 24 abutting-againstaicasing i When \thetmevabile memben ping the body 3.

press c in v the direction of;- the arrow, upon ah lever; 26;, piv a lyi on ec ed oh hee e t 23;. n; rdereleas e h am mber, fro he:

guide l.

alls he bolt, 3 '6Il1 nt1- h slot-E15; n -ms sh wneabutsz ge-i st he ran seae ge f 1 he f et, hus rmingi nre tremeln impl me n Qi i: t -1 ft; a i-ia s mentien t hat! he more 7 bl em r sfp endedt mm thewid y; means ofa special hook whieh ppnmitsait tofl be ntom all-yi nhe kedi whenh hedewmrd;- m vement: of e: mwabl m i bers' eases-1 A cording tea phefierredfo meef eonstmeed, hew h ntFigst a fi id: :6 the 1001 272;

eludes,- @w mal1-; eigh 25% ltt else die ewith gi ingmean i uch sraz n. 29

he;large ba efotsw i hihasadiatnetena ieallywqneh a he n ern ll iamete i he? guide This cone 5 EBQfflnablmcomprises a a mow blek e beeneaehesithebe temeppinti t, lug 31 which is adapted to slide ill-b its travel. I r v grogvfisgk I v I V 7 Further he w n sr lvleh edy are Moneoven, aceordingiiw,aniadvamagewsg; V

' s mmet ically.arrangedelativ ly oheme:

traofthi dyse hatit efmeweble alie nb lh,

when it is introduced atg th'e upper pam can e plaed: =t-h re n ndi rent 15v it 335 9 15 clinedeplane attheiendmfh heibedy 3511mm hanyi nmafom ex ample; circular..-(;seealso-=E g-n I x The right hand inclined planer; 2);;i5 also provided: WllgllgytaSlQthfll-ZEDCL tli slot; is extended by a longitudinal slot; lfifsee also The two-inclined planes.arehconnec edi a get heribyl aishorticrossipieoea211;; 'eh ispref erably provided with an elastihpadQQ.olizrtheh outside;- v V r I Moneover, r, the g11irle.---v 1; is, pnovidedi at; lower part with means ion-1restnaining and'o lockingfthemovable member Ziwhemitaentfies its .bottomipositiona For this purpose'a bolt 17 proyidedWith-an;

rr ngement his onepi er b yi e l and may be loadedaat will-gwith leadysl ot for;

he purpo wf egulet ngh J urni heve ment pwardse Ae n ialef rmve According to: the arnangernent i sh'owm; this-1 ovable member ompr eea. w r laws ae the pr hensile m ans o he. mov ble; membenalso shown; im 9:

formed by el-e a ic :ba d:i fii-m dei v uitble meta l; su hias. teehwhichvis initiallybent; nd zcurawed LS:ShQNVnin Ei Thi -a;

is; attached t; 1.4;: to;v heAbedy oiti he move able member by any suitable known ;means;

ffihebnsklel? maybe ecured; asc hewin i F g- 19 nthe hQQk: P-:-

e ther betweenitheibranches 1:39, 'anr il3iz' of he c aw;;or between. he branches; 13 and; 139-:

Moreover, any other attachment device could be employed according to the nature,

weight and volume of the articles to be carried.

The apparatus thus described, its operation is as follows:

The valves being assumed to be regulated for the transport of a certain type of article, an employee at the store attaches the articles in succession to the movable members placed at his disposal and he does this under the conditions necessary for the distribution, for example in pairs of different sizes in the case of footwear, or similar articles.

As required by the employees in the lower shop, which is, for example a selling shop, the member loaded with the desired article is suspended from the hook 27 by the small bar 21 and it is introduced into the guide 1.

The movable arrangement descends by its own weight the speed of downward movement being slackened to the required degree by the operation of the pneumatic brake.

When the movable member reaches the lower point the speed of the movable member is rapidly restrained and then stopped by the action of the bolts 17 and 28.

At this moment on account of their inertia, the hook 27 and the cone 29 continue to descend for some moments, the upper cross piece 21, through the medium of the elastic pad 22, then abuts upon the internal part of the hook, in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 5, and thus disengages the hook from the movable member, the counterpoise 28 maintaining it in the disengaged position. (Fig. 4:.) The counterpoise 6, which the falling movement of the member 3 has brought into its upper position, falls of its own account, bringing the hook back into its lower initial position.

The apparatus is then ready to be employed again. The movable members successively introduced and thus sent down stop at the lower part of the distributor where they remain superposed upon each other in the order in which they arrive.

The distribution or selling employees can disengage them at will.

It is sufiicient for them, in fact, in order to.

do this in a single and sole operation, to actuate the lever 26, engaging a finger in the notches 15 (Fig. 2). The movable member having been liberated it is removed by exerting a slight pull.

The following member then takes the place of the first and can be liberated in its turn.

It is therefore clearly seen that the apparatus enables articles to be distributed in a continuous manner while it requires only very simple operations on the part of the staff.

The operation is almost entirely automatic, the apparatus being always ready to work.

Note must also be taken of the great advantage derived from the use of this device, in

which the introduction of the articles dependent of their release.

Further, and in a general manner, the invention is in no way-limited to the form of construction which has been described and is inillustrated above and in which all modificamovable members comprlsing the combination of a grooved pulley, a cord passing over said pulley supportinga hook for said movable members and, a cylindrical counterpolse movable, after the manner of a piston in a cylinder, in a cylindrical tube provided at its ends with regulating valves.

2. A distributor comprising in combination movable members provided with members for the attachment of the articles to be distributed, guiding means for the displacement of said movable members, meansv for slackening the speed of fall of the said movable members and a device for stopping these members at the extreme portion ofthe said guiding means, in which each movable mem-v ber' has two thinned off symmetrical ends each presenting a blank side and a longitudinally slotted side, said sides being terminated by a cross piece provided with an elastic pad.

3. A distributor comprising in combination, movable distributing members, the speed of fall of which is slackened by a retarding device, said movable members sliding in a guide constituted by atube slotted along a generating line andprovided at its lower end with a spring bolt arranged opposite the" blank side of the end of each movable memher, and a second spring bolt whichengages a slot on the other side'of the end of the movable member, the latter bolt, which can stop this member at the end of its stroke, being adapted to be disengaged by a movable lever. 4c. A distributor element comprising in combination movable membersprovided with members for the attachment of thearticles to be distributed, guiding means for the displacement of said movable'members, means for slackening the speed of fall of the said movable members and means for suspending the movable member from a cord carrying a counterpoise, constituted by a swinging hook comprising a'weight which tends to keep it in the unhooked position, to which hook is fitted a guiding means preferably formed bya cone, the arrangement formed by the hook and this cone being lighter than the cou'nterpoise. i V 5. A distributor element comprising in combination movable memb ers, guiding means fo :-tl1e-displaeemene0f said movable members, means for slackening the speed of fall of theseid movable members, and each movable member'being provided With meansfor attaehingthe. articles to be'conveyed; which meansconsists of: two: or more claws each formed'by an: elastic band-bent twice and adaptedto be employed for articles ofi varying thicknesses.

Theefbregoing specification of my improved distributing device, signed by ne this'27tl1 day of January, 1927.

JACK RAYMOND LEVY. 

